8 Christmases
by hypergurl221
Summary: Two people fall in love over 8 Christmases


**First Year**

Hermione walked into the Great hall on Christmas morning, to see the normal 4 long house tables had disappeared and had been replaced with small round tables for year groups. She slowly made her way to the first year table, the only person sitting at the table was a boy with slicked back white blonde hair and an unamused expression plastered on his face. At least she wasn't the only first year staying over Christmas.

She slowly approached the boy

"Hi, I'm Hermione Granger, Do you mind if I sit next to you?" the boy looked up from his food and gave her a slight smirk

"Yea okay"

she sat down, and both sat in a uncomfortable silence, until she couldn't stand it anymore

"So what's your name?"

"Draco" she smiled at him

"That's an interesting name" again he smirked at her

"So is Hermione"

"You're a Slytherin aren't you? I've seen you in some of my classes"

"Yea I'm a Slytherin and proud, my family has been in Slytherin for century's" he replied arrogantly "And what of your family?" he asked arching an eyebrow at her

"My parents are dentist's" he looked at her confused "You know the people who look at your teeth? Make sure their okay?"

"Your parents are muggles? You're a muggle-born?" he asked

"I suppose so. Does that matter?" she asked suddenly nervous there was something wrong with her

"No. Not really" she breathed out a sigh of relief

"look I know we don't really know each other, but I think Christmas should be spent with someone. Do you wanna go play in the snow after breakfast?" she asked hopefully

Hermione didn't miss the way his face lit up as he replied "Well I don't really have anything else to do. I suppose so"

They spent the rest of breakfast talking about their lives at school. What they had been expecting their first days at school, what subjects and teaches they like and which they didn't. Hermione told him about when she had found out she was a witch she had bought many books and had begun studying, Draco told her about his parents being in a long legacy of Malfoy's and he had always known he would be a wizard, because it was in his blood.

After breakfast the two young students walked to the area just outside the quidditch pitch that was covered in a think layer of snow.

"Come on lets make a snowman" Hermione said enthusiastically, Draco looked over at her confused

"A what?" she turned to him surprised

"A Snowman?" she repeated

"I don't know what that is" he admitted weakly, she smiled over at him

"I'll just have to teach you" she paused and looked for a flat piece of land and the right looking snow

"Okay come over here. So first we are going to make a large snowball, but it has to stay together and not fall apart" Hermione began to push the snow together and reluctantly Draco began to help

"Is there a reason to building a snowman?" he asked after they finished the first snowball

"It's for fun!" Hermione smiled over at him "Why what do you normally do in the snow?"

"Well I don't normally play in the snow, its wet and cold and I'd rather stay inside" she looked over at him surprised

"But snow is beautiful. It only happens sometimes and every single snowflake is different"

"How can every single snowflake be different?" he asked incredulously

"Magic" he looked at her for a moment and couldn't help but notice she had a nice smile

"What do we do next?"

"Now we do it again, except we make the snowball smaller, and then we make another one even smaller" they began to push the snow together again and soon they had a snowman without a face

"That just looks silly" he said looking at the pile of snow

she laughed at the look on his face "What are you laughing at?" he demanded

"It's not finished yet Draco, come on" he followed her over to under a large tree

"Look for a stick that looks like it has fingers" she held up a stick that look like it did infract have fingers. She then began to collect small stones. Draco helped her find small rocks and along the way found another stick that had fingers

"To the snowman" Hermione shouted as she picked up the last rock. Draco couldn't help but laugh at her theatrics

"Now what?" he looked at what they had collected 2 sticks and a pile of stones

"Now we give him human features" she took one of the sticks and shoved it into the middle snowball, Draco took the other stick and put it in the side opposite Hermione's

"It looks like arms!" Draco exclaimed

Hermione just smiled over at him "Now we give him a face" she began to put the rocks in an order of a smile. Draco took two rocks from her hand and placed them as eyes on his face. Hermione finished the snowman with a red rock for a nose

"Normally the nose is a carrot, but in this circumstance I suppose this'll do" she looked at the snowman for a moment "Something's missing" she slowly removed her scarf and wrapped it around the neck of the snowman. "Perfect!"

"That was fun" Draco said from her left "What else can you do in the snow?"

"We could make snow angels?" he looked at her confused again, but instead of answering Hermione just fell backwards into the snow. She began to make the motions for a snow angel

"Draco help me up" she held her hand up to him and he nervously took it and helped her up

He turned and looked at what she had created. Before him was a simple shape of an angel created by Hermione in the snow

"is this for fun too?" she grinned and nodded

"Have a go" he turned and repeated what she had done falling into the snow and making the same motion. She held her hand out to him and pulled him up.

"That is really cool! That you can do that with your body!" he continued staring at the snow for a moment before he realised Hermione was no longer standing next him. He turned just in time to feel the icy flakes hit his face

he heard her laughing from behind their snowman. This was a game he was able to play. He leaned down and began to create a snowball, when he felt another lump of snow hit him in the back.

"I'm going to get you back you know?" she just laughed and he watched her begin to run up the hill. Snowballs began to be hurled back and forth at each other, and before long the pair had been outside for hours.

"Truce!" he heard her yell and she appeared from behind the tree she had found refuge. As she got closer he plonked a pile of snow on her head

"Truce" he replied with a grin

The were both soaking wet, their hair was sticking to their faces and their clothes were no longer keeping them warm as the chill of the snow had sunk through. Together, side by side, they walked up to the castle, every so often bumping against each other. once inside she looked over at him

"I think we should have a shower. Met me in the great hall for dinner?" she asked

"Deal"

The pair went to their separate house common rooms, had a warm shower. Hermione felt freezing and could not wait to rip her clothes of and stand under the warm spray. When she first got in the heat of the shower stang her frozen skin, but slowly her body adapted, and she got a good half hour of shower before she got dressed and returned to the great hall. He was already there and his plate covered in food. She couldn't deny she was hungry they had after all missed lunch.

Dinner was spent making friendly conversation about a lot of different things, when they were both adequately full, Draco queried what they should do now

"Would you like to come to the library with me?" she asked he looked at her shocked

"It's Christmas why would you want to go to the library on Christmas?" he asked astonished

"On Christmas before I go to bed, my mum used to read to me. Just a little tradition. I guess I don't want to feel too out of the loop just cause I'm still at school on Christmas"

"Will you read to me? If I come?" Draco asked quietly. She beamed at him

"Of Course!" they walked together to the library where they found a small area for just them. the library was practically empty.

"I'll be right back" she smiled at him. Draco thought back to his day with this forward girl. His father was not going to like the fact that he spent his Christmas with a muggle-born, but he supposed it didn't really matter, how much trouble could he possibly get into?

She reappeared not long holding an old looking book

"Your not going to read me school work are you?" he asked slightly nervous

"No" she smiled at him "It's called Dracula, it's one of my favourites, it was written in 1897, it's really good!"

"What's it about?"

"Vampires!" she smiled

"Oh so made up mumbo jumbo?" she couldn't help but laugh

"Only a couple months ago I thought magic, witches and wizards was mumbo jumbo, don't dismiss everything so easily Draco, it might surprise you" she then opened the book and began to read. Draco just listened to her soothing voice and closed his eyes. He hated to admit it but the story was actually pretty good.

It was 10 minutes before curfew when she closed the book. Draco's eyes snapped open and looked over at her

"What's wrong?"

"It's almost curfew, we should go"

He stood and pulled her up. Once they were outside the library Draco turned to look at her

"I had fun today" he admitted

"So did I"

"I'll see you around yea?"

"Of course" she gave him a small hug and then turned to leave

"Happy Christmas Draco"

"Happy Christmas Hermione"

**Second Year**

He watched her enter the Great Hall and wonder how she would react this year, he was again the only one from their year, still at school. Last year they had been friends for the day, but that had changed this year. He had put a divisible line between them. When he had gone home for summer break and his father had heard about the small friendship he had made with her, he went ballistic, sprouting on and on about blood purity, it was hard for the message not to sink in. it had been an accident, he hadn't meant to call her a mudblood, but she was defending Potter so adamantly.

He watched her slowly walk over to him, with a small smile gracing her features

"Hi" he looked up at her in surprise, she was talking to him

"You're talking to me?" he asked confused, he knew he should have spat an insult at her. But it was Christmas and he couldn't bring himself to hurt her. He knew he had made her cry the times he had said it before and he didn't want that reaction today

"I told you last year. I don't like being alone on Christmas, but I want you to apologise and promise me you wont call me that again, you told me last year it didn't matter and it hurt Draco. A lot"

"I'm sorry Hermione. I promise" he yielded to her request

She sat down and smiled at him

"So why do you stay back? Why don't you go home?"

he smirked slightly "My parents have a big ball at this time in the year, and I'm too much trouble to have around. What about you?"

"My parents go on a holiday mid way through December and they don't get back till mid January. They go on the trip every year, they used to take me, but now it would mean pulling me out of school, and I don't want that"

they ate together silently for a moment before the silence got too much for Hermione

"So what did you get for Christmas?" she asked

"The nimbus 2001 you saw me with earlier in the year, it was an early Christmas present, so I could play Quidditch. And no I didn't ask my father to buy the team brooms so he could buy me on to the team, he just thought it would help us beat everyone. I actually worked my arse off to get on the team. It's why potter and you pissed me off so much that day"

Hermione looked over at him with a sad expression on her face

"I'm sorry. I didn't realise, you were just being cruel to Harry I had to defend him somehow"

"And I had to defend myself" he replied slightly agitated

she looked away "mudblood" she whispered

"Hey look its Christmas, I apologised, we had fun last year. Cant we for one-day just hang out?" he asked hopefully

"of course, I'm sorry I didn't mean to put a downer on Christmas"

"Soo what did you get for Christmas?" he asked looking over at her

"Books, its all everyone thinks I like, not that I mind, but what am I going to do with '_calligraphy for dummies'_?"

"so all you got, were books?"

"Yup" he started laughing at this

"What?" she demanded

"Come on, we are going to have fun today instead of you being completely alone with books" he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the door "I learnt some new stuff to do in the snow, it's going to be great" she heard him laughing but all she could think about is how warm his hands were against hers

they were headed towards the black lake, but instead of it's normal murky water, it had a thick layer of ice on top.

"My aunt taught me to skate last time I went home, she told me it was a noble type thing to do. I thought it was fun, have you ever ice skated?"

she shook her head. He pointed at her shoes and whispered "_patí sobre_" her shoes suddenly had a thin line of metal on the bottom of them, he turned his wand on his own shoes and repeated the spell

"Come on" he held his hand out to her again, which she took reluctantly "You can trust me, promise"

he guided her onto the lake and slowly helped her learn how to balance and the correct motions that needed to be taken to create momentum. After an hour she had got the main gist of it. she watched him glide gracefully around her coaxing her to try go a little faster, not long after they were racing up and down the ice. Slowly they got tired and just began slowly sliding next to each other

"Are you afraid?" he asked, unfortunately she knew what he was talking about. She didn't answer straight away, they just slowly continued sliding next to each other

and then very quietly answered "Yes. I mean it was a muggleborn last time, what if it's me this time" she was too afraid to look at his face to see his reaction

he gently took her hand in his. It had the same warmth that she experienced before

"It'll be okay in the end. I'm sure of it"

"How can you be so sure?" she looked up at him with sad eyes

"Just a feeling" he replied absently "Do you think Potter is the heir?"

"No" she answered straight away without even having to think

"Neither do I" she looked over at him in surprise

"I thought you would?"

"No the person who is the heir would have to be in Slytherin, it's the only thing that makes sense"

they continued skating together making more polite conversation, then the dark one they had entered into not to long before. The pair skated for hours, not noticing the time, or the fact they were starving, or the fact that they hadn't eaten in hours. It wasn't until Draco looked up that he realised

"Come on it's getting dark, we should go back up to the castle" as soon as they stepped off the ice, the thin layer of metal disappeared from under their shoes.

Together, side by side, they walked up to the castle, every so often bumping against each other. once inside the castle they made their way to the great hall where the feast was in full swing. Hermione and Draco made their way to the second year table and started gobbling as much food into their mouths as possible

"Are you going to read to me again?" he asked curiously

"Well I'm going to the library after dinner if that's what you mean, you can join me if you want"

"Of course!" he replied a little to quickly and she couldn't help but giggle at his eagerness

He didn't know why he was so comfortable around her at Christmas, but it seemed like that one time a year he could be completely honest and not have to worry about being judged.

They walked together to the library, where they returned to the spot they had read together last year. This year Hermione returned with a small old looking book.

"What is it this year?" he asked, wondering what she would read this year

"It's called a little princess, it's a classic"

"What's it about?"

"A girl who believes she's more then what society deems she is after her father dies"

"Sounds interesting" he told her absently, and then closed his eyes, so he could listen to her voice as she started to read

Again, she closed the book 10 minutes before curfew. He didn't ask her why she stopped, just simply stood up and offered her his hand.

Once outside the library Hermione turned to give him a hug, one he returned, they stood there for a moment hugging, before they pulled apart. She turned to leave

"Hermione wait" she turned to she him put his wand away "here"

he placed a small rose in the palm of her hand

"My father taught me the spell, if I did it right, it should change colour with the weather" she just smiled and pulled him into another hug

"Thank you Draco" she placed a small peck on the side of his check before beginning to walk away

"Happy Christmas Draco"

"Happy Christmas Hermione"

**Third Year**

She pushed open the door of the great hall carefully; she didn't know how to act this year. So much had changed; he was a harsh person who no longer seemed to remember the Christmases they had spent together. Their eyes locked across the hall and his eyes seemed to show he was just as nervous as she was. There were a few more students staying for Christmas this year but they were in Ravenclaw and Hermione didn't seem to know any of them. Taking a deep breath she walked over and plonked herself next to Draco. They sat in an uncomfortable silence while they both ate

She broke the silence with a question. "Why?" she asked so softly that if he weren't watching her mouth out the corner of his eye, he probably wouldn't have heard it

"Why what?" he didn't let venom seep into his voice as he normally did, he didn't hate her when he was harsh but it was just a normal reaction to her.

"You promised. You promised me Malfoy" he didn't miss the teary glaze that washed over her eyes, before she scrunched them shut and whipped them with her sleeve

"Can we talk about this later?" he urged

"I suppose so" she sighed and continued eating.

Draco's arm sat uncomfortably in a sling and eating had become a little difficult. He tried to keep his poise while eating but it didn't really help. After another 5 minutes of trying to keep his dignity, he gave up and pushed the bowl away. He watched Hermione finish her meal, and with his good hand he turned and took her hand

"Come on, I want to show you something"

she didn't protest as he pulled her from the room, but when they got to the grand staircase she dropped her hand away from his

"I wont go anywhere with you until you tell me why" she said sternly

"I have to Granger, okay? Its what's expected of me. You and me, the lives we live are completely different. I'm sorry if it hurts you, but I cant stop. Every Slytherin is pure blood and has the same upbringing as me, I cant just start sprouting muggleborns are amazing and we should leave them alone. It's not how our world works. I'm sorry, i just can't change it" he looked at her hoping she would understand, but she seemed lost in thought

"Why do you give Ron such a hard time then, his pure blood?" he smirked at this

"Because Malfoy's and Weasly's have been enemies since merlins time, it wont change anytime soon. I'm sure he would be just as harsh to me if you weren't there"

"Your families that old?"

"Yes. I told you, we are a very old wizarding family, there aren't too many older then ours" he took her hand in his "Can I show you what I wanted to show you now?"

she smiled and nodded

"I forgive you Draco. I wish it could be different"

he just looked away and began to take her up the stair cases.

They climbed staircase after staircase until they reached the seventh floor

"I haven't been up here before" she whispered afraid to upset the balance of the seventh floor

he laughed at her uncomfortableness "Granger relax, we are allowed to be here"

"I know, it's just I don't know it seems like we shouldn't be here"

"stand here" he told her pointing to a spot in front of a wall "Now think of something you want, more then anything right at this moment"

Confused by Draco's commands she slowly closed her eyes she and began thinking. What could he possibly be up to? What do I want right now? A swim that would be nice, I wonder what Draco looks like swimming, a spa would be nice, I'm over this cold weather for now, I miss the beach and swimming

As she was thinking the wall in front of her began to change into a large door, she felt Draco come up behind her and place a gentle hand on her shoulder

"Open your eyes"

she was greeted with the sight of a large old looking door, the type of door you'd see on a beach hut "What's this?" she asked Draco

"What you asked for" she looked at him sceptically and then opened the door.

As soon as she entered the room she froze. In the middle of the room was a large pool, that had ringlets of steam coming off the top suggesting it was heated, and in the corner a large ornate spa bath, of to the side was changing room, and sitting at the edge of the pool was a pair of swimmers and boardies, and underneath them was 2 large fluffy towels.

"Oh my god" Hermione whispered

"Isn't it amazing?" Draco asked enthusiastically "I found it last year, when I was looking for" he stopped midsentence realising he was about to say something that he would probably regret

"when you were looking for what?" Hermione pushed

"i… well i….. umm" Draco mumbled incoherently

"Spit it out Draco"

"I read all the muggle fiction books in the library, and I was up here one day thinking it would be nice to read more, and then a door appeared and the room was full of muggle fiction novels" she couldn't help but smile at him

"So muggle fiction isn't so bad?" she asked raising her eyebrow. He didn't reply, so she simply smirked at him "come on, lets get in"

She ran across the floor and picked up her bikini. It was a beautiful pastel green that looked like it was going to fit perfectly. Draco followed not far behind. They both entered the change room and 2 minutes later Hermione jumped into the pool, giggling as she did.

"Hurry up Draco!" Hermione urged

"I'm going as fast as I can with one hand" he sounded a little exasperated

"I don't feel sorry for you, you know? You should have listen to Hagrid" she said slightly snobby

"I know I should have, but I didn't know it was going to slash my arm, now did i?"

"You could have died" Hermione whispered

"I know, it was stupid, but its done with now, so don't lecture me"

"I wouldn't lecture you if you hurried up, and came out here" she grinned triumphantly although he couldn't even see her smiling "It's really good in the water" she mused aloud

"I'm coming out" he announced and the proudly opened the door

Hermione was momentarily speechless as she saw his upper body. It wasn't what she imagined… not that she imagined Draco Malfoy topless. He was so much more, his body was angular in the right areas and enough muscle on others, and she couldn't help the sigh then gently escaped her lips

She noticed he was looking at her oddly and she looked away blushing

"Come on get in" she urged

he sat on the top step and let himself adjust to the temperature

"When can you get the sling off?"

"Next week" he sighed exasperated

"I could take it off now if you want? It's all healed, your getting it off next week cause the teachers don't work Christmas week"

he smiled over at her, "You could take it off for me?"

she smiled and swam to the side of the pool and pulled herself out of the water. Draco watched as water droplets rolled down her body. And what a body it was. Smooth, shapely perfect.

His mouth went dry as she bent over to retrieve her wand from her pile of clothes. Her arse, was the best thing he had ever seen.

"Here give me your arm" she slowly began to unwrap the bandages that were surrounding his arm and shoulder. When she was done she looked at his arm for a moment before tapping it with her wand. When nothing happened she smiled happily at him and put her wand back from where she got it

"What was the wand for?"

"Just in case they put a spell on it that disallowed you to move, even without the sling" she ran back to the pool and gracefully dived in when she resurfaced she smiled over at him "Come on!"

He slowly went down the steps allowing his body to enjoy the heat sensation

"I'm going to study this room, I want to know what it is" he heard her say from across the pool.

"Hey Granger, make an oath with me, that this is our secret. Study it and all, but its only ours, I wont tell anyone, you wont tell anyone"

"Sure oath and all" she smiled and turned away

"Granger I meant a wizard oath, you know I like the idea of this being ours"

she took his pinkie in her own "Draco I pinkie swear that this will remain our secret"

"What's a pinkie swear?"

"What we just did"

"That was silly! There was no magic, no seriousness"

"Draco magic isn't everything, I've made a promise, and I never break a promise" she looked at him seriously for a moment then turned away, but she was acting suspiciously.

Before he knew what she was doing she quickly turned towards him and splashed him right in the face. the water dripped down his face, from his hair and it was mixing with his gel. His hair began to fall on his face and became all ruffled. He took a deep breath and went under water. When he resurfaced his hair was sticking to his face, it was a look Hermione wasn't accustomed too, he looked completely dishevelled and natural

"I like your hair like that, you should wear it without gel more, you look nicer" he smirked over at her

"Careful Granger that almost sounded like a compliment"

"It almost was" she smirked back

they swam together in the pool for an hour before Hermione just wanted to relax. She walked up the steps and put out her towel and lay on it. A small shiver past through her, I wish it was a little warmer in here, she thought to herself, not a moment later the air temperature was suddenly comfortable.

Draco followed her lead and got out of the pool and lay on his towel. The following hours were used to talk about all things, from classes, to Christmas gifts, to what they did outside school. After awhile the pair had fallen into a comfortable silence just staring at the ceiling, lost in their own thoughts.

Hermione began to get up on his right and he turned to look at her, confused.

"Where are you going?"

"Wait here" and then she was walking towards her pile of clothes. She dropped down beside it and began going through the pockets looking for something. When she returned, she was holding a small box "here I got this for you"

he opened the box and inside was a very intricate gold watch. The armband of the watch was a dragon which was biting it's own tail to stay closed; the watch itself was set in the middle of the dragons stomach. He looked over at her with surprised eyes

"Put it on" she urged, he gently took it out of the box and looked at how to open the dragons mouth

"Rook, this is Draco, you are his now, let him put you on" the dragons eyes blinked and it released it's tail. The dragon then wrapped itself around Draco's wrist until it was a perfect fit and then bit down on his tail again to close.

"Its beautiful, I've never seen anything like it" he whispered

"Oh I found it at hogsmead, it seemed to remind me of you, I couldn't say no"

"But I've been so horrible to you this year" he continued to whisper disbelieving she had given him such an amazing gift

"I know, but we spend Christmas together and your more like you on Christmas, I don't know, I just got it for you" she smiled at him and continued "his name is Rook, and he will only follow your orders now, the watch face doesn't just show you the time, but also what classes you have and how long till your next one"

he just nodded and moved closer to her. When they were almost touching he turned and pulled her into a hug. Her face was squashed against his skin, but for some reason she didn't mind "Hermione, it's amazing. Thank you"

After another minute he let her go and stood up "Dinner time?" he asked holding his hand out to her. She accepted it and he gently pulled her up.

20 minutes later saw them together, side by side, walking through the castle, every so often bumping against each other. They ate dinner together comfortably, every couple of seconds Draco would look at his new watch, it truly was amazing.

He leaned over and whispered in Hermione's ear "I've chosen the book I want you to read this year" she just looked up and smirked

"Better be good"

once they finished dinner they made their way to the library where they found there spot and sat.

"Okay so where is this book?"

"Here" he handed her a wrapped parcel, she looked up at him surprised "Open it" he urged just as she had earlier

she gently unwrapped the parcel and when she was done she felt tears coming to her eyes

"Where did you get this?" she asked voice cracking slightly

"I found it in muggle London, last year"

"But it's a first edition!" he just smiled

"I'm glad you like it"

"Like it?! Like it? Draco I love it!"

She threw her arms around his neck and planted a small kiss on his cheek. she held him for a few more moments and then began to feel him laughing against her

She sat back and looked at him "what's so funny?"

"You could start reading it, and you know enjoying it"

Hermione blushed a little and pulled the book into her lap. she opened the first page and ran her fingers along the title

"The picture of Dorian Gray" and then she began to read her first edition copy aloud

10 minutes before curfew she closed the book. Draco's eyes as usual snapped open and he stood and offered her his hand. Once outside the library he turned to her and gave her a small kiss on her cheek

"Thank you. I had fun today"

She blushed slightly and pulled him into a hug

"So did I"

"Till next year"

"Happy Christmas Draco"

"Happy Christmas Hermione"

**Forth Year**

He watched her twirl with Victor Krum. He knew he shouldn't be watching but it was Christmas and she hadn't even looked his way and for some reason that made him angry. He turned away from her and continued his conversation with Pansy.

Their Christmas tradition had been postponed for a year with the announcement of the Tri Wizard Tournament, but he had still hoped that they would spend some time together. He looked over at her. She was smiling up at Krum while he spun her again. The song came to an end and she air kissed Krum and then walked over to her friends.

"Pansy listen, I need some air I'll be back soon" he gently kissed her hand and walked out the hall

She had felt his eyes on her all night. She wanted to talk to him, only for a moment. It felt somehow wrong celebrating Christmas without him, it had been 3 years after all. It felt even worse that she wasn't reading right now, not that she minded the Yule Ball, but it wasn't the Christmas she was used to.

Victor spun her one more time before the song finished. She leaned up and gave him a small air kiss.

"Victor I'm exhausted, I'm going to spend some time with Harry and Ron, you keep dancing"

He just smiled down at her and nodded vigorously

As she approached the boys she noticed their faces were very stern

"What's wrong?" she asked smiling at the boys

"Nothing!" Ron grumbled at her

"I see. Why don't you dance? Victor and I have been having such fun"

Ron mumbled under his voice something that Hermione didn't quiet catch

"What was that?"

"I said his the enemy and maybe you shouldn't be dancing with him!"

"The enemy?" Hermione almost screeched

"His from Durmstrang! His probably using you for information, and your just being suggestive in that outfit!" He yelled at her

Hermione looked at harry for help but he was watching Cho be manoeuvred around by Cedric, she knew he had heard everything but was choosing to ignore the situation. She could feel the tears in her eyes and before they could see them fall she ran from the hall

Once outside she allowed the tears to fall as she slid down the closest wall. She cried silently to herself until she felt a hard body sit down beside her and pull her into their arms. She inhaled and cried harder, she knew that smell

"Oh Draco why do they ruin everything?" she felt him shrug his shoulders and just continue rubbing her back in soothing circles while she let her tears continue to fall. After awhile however he felt her still in his arms

"Come on, you cant ruin that dress" he gently tugged her away from his body and pulled her up as he began to stand "Dance with me" he whispered

She felt the tug of a smile and whispered back "there's no music"

"I can hum if you want" he offered her his hand in the formal dancing position, she took it slowly and he gently led her around in small circles "You look beautiful"

"Thank you" she laid her head on his chest and just listen to the sound of his heartbeat as he continued his small circles

"I'm going to go apologise to Hermione" Harry whispered to Ron

"Yea okay" he slouched more in his seat, as if defying the situation

Harry rose and left the hall, looking for Hermione. He walked a little until he heard whispered voices coming from a corridor not far from where he was. He turned the corner and saw Draco Malfoy with his hands on Hermione. He was about to shout at him to let her go and then tease him with some horrible pang about how he always ran to his father, but he then re-assessed the situation, and realised Hermione was actually in no danger.

Hermione had her head resting on Malfoy's chest and he was slowly leading them in small circles. They were dancing together, Harry realised with a shock. He quickly hid behind a pillar and cautiously took small peaks from around it, so they were not aware of his presence

"Christmas wasn't the same this year" he heard Malfoy whisper

"I know, 3 years of tradition, just washed away. I could be reading to you right now" she replied

after a moments pause Malfoy spoke again"I still got something for you" Harry peaked around the corner and saw him drop her hands, and pull out a small box from his inside pocket.

He couldn't see what it was, but Hermione's face immediately lit up when she opened it.

"It's Beautiful" he heard her whisper

"Here, give me your wrist" Harry watched him pull a small silver chain from the box and clip it around Hermione's wrist. He watched her face turn red as Malfoy stood close to her

"I got you something also" she walked over to where she had left her clutch and pulled out a small rectangular package "I think you might like this one"

Malfoy tore off the paper and looked a the small book in his hand "The count of Monte Cristo?" he asked

Harry could hardly contain his shock, Hermione had given Malfoy muggle fiction?

"Oh Draco, you'll love it! It's about a man who gets everything taken away from him, so he gets hell bent on revenge. It's in French because it's an almost original copy and signed by Alexandre Dumas, I know you can read the language" Harry watched Malfoy's face expecting him to scoff at the gift, but to his surprise, he smiled down at Hermione

"Where did you get it?"

"Well it was mine" she whispered

"I can't possibly take this Hermione!" he announced incredibly shocked. He tried to give the book back to her

"Draco" she whispered softly "I want you to have it. Now dance with me again" Harry watched her gently take the book from his hand and placed it back with her clutch, she then took his hand again and nudged him, expecting him to lead them in circles again.

Harry knew he was missing something. How can they be friends? Were they more then friends? Why wouldn't Hermione tell him about this friendship?

"364 days, I try and hate you, but on Christmas I just can't" Malfoy whispered

"I hope you don't try to hard"

Harry watched him smirk down at her "No I don't try hard at all, dirty mudblood. I've still got to get you back for punching me last year" Harry was sure he heard sarcasm ringing through Malfoy's voice

She smiled up at him "stupid ferret, you deserved it" It almost sounded loving

"You know I don't want to insult you"

"Maybe one day you wont have to" she whispered hopefully

"Maybe"

They continued their small circles until a soft jingling was heard above them. Both Hermione and Malfoy looked up and saw a small bunch of mistletoe form above their heads. Hermione blushed considerably

"It's Dumbledore's special mistletoe, it only appears when" but she couldn't keep talking, Harry watched as Malfoy's hand slowly caressed her face, and pulled her towards him. Their lips met slowly, cautiously but somehow it seemed like they both had wanted to do this for sometime. What felt like a lifetime later Malfoy took his lips away from hers.

"It's only appears when?" he whispered

After a moment she replied "When people already have feelings for each other, so people who feel nothing for each other don't have to kiss"

"Your so clever" and then he kissed her again

Harry knew he shouldn't be watching this. This was private, just for Hermione. Maybe the git wasn't what he seemed. Harry slowly backed away from the situation and returned to the hall.

Draco pulled away from Hermione once again. Already missing the tenderness of her lips upon his he whispered

"We should go back to the great hall"

"I know" she replied frowning slightly

Together, side-by-side, they walked back to the great hall, every so often bumping against each other. Once they were outside the hall he turned to her.

"Next Christmas?"

"Of course" she smiled at him "Happy Christmas Draco"

"Happy Christmas Hermione"

**Fifth year**

Harry watched Hermione glare daggers at Draco across the table. Pansy was draped across Draco, and running her hands through his hair in an almost romantic fashion. The only thing missing was the actual attraction in their eyes, neither seemed to be wanting to be with each other but were doing it for some other purpose, and from the quick glances Draco was throwing Hermione's way, he guessed it was to make her jealous.

Hermione was trying to keep calm and just continue her conversation with Harry, but every so often her eyes would wander to the couple sitting directly across from them and she would get unintentionally angry. She wasn't jealous… No why would she be? It was just improper to be showing affection at the breakfast table. Yes that was why she was so angry. With that thought in mind she returned to her conversation with Harry

But then it happened, Draco leaned down, Pansy leaned up and their lips met. Hermione knew she was staring but she couldn't help it. How dare they kiss at the table!

"Harry I need the bathroom" she stood, scratching her chair along the floor and then left the hall as quickly as she possibly could

As soon as she was out of the room, Draco promptly pulled away, whispered quietly in Pansy's ear, stood and then left the hall, leaving Harry and Pansy alone at the fifth year Christmas table.

"Granger!" his voice rang through the empty hall she was currently storming down. Ignore him; ignore him, her inner voice coursed through her head

"Granger, Stop!"

"WHAT?!" she turned to face him completely exasperated

"Get rid of that tone so I can talk to you!"

"I don't want to talk to you Malfoy!" she hissed at him

"Granger" he whispered as he walked into her personal space

"What?!"

"Are you jealous?" he asked pushing a small strand of hair behind her ear

"Why would I be jealous?" she snapped, slapping his hand away from her face

"You left the hall pretty quickly when I kissed Pansy"

"I needed a bathroom!"

"yes, that's why you've been walking in the complete opposite direction of the toilets" he pointed out incredibly sarcastically

Her shoulders fell in defeat "Just leave me alone Malfoy"

"Granger it's Christmas! You're never angry with me at Christmas"

"Yes well this year you've been an extra big jerk! Plus you have Pansy this year, so just go hang out with her!"

"How have I been and extra big jerk?" he demanded, suddenly insulted and getting angry very quickly

"Oh I don't know maybe the fact you joined the Inquisitorial Squad, and you've made this year extra hard for any of us!"

his anger peaked at this comment and he grabbed her wrist and pushed her against the closest wall "I only joined that squad to get back at you!" he yelled

Hermione had the ability to get away, but this year he had gone out of his way to make her life, as well as Ron's and Harry's hell, and Damn it she wanted to know why

"What did I do Malfoy?! Hmm what did I do that is so horrible?" she yelled back at him

His face slowly changed from anger to sadness and he released her hands. He didn't step away however

"What did I do?" she asked again, this time more softly

He looked away from her and answered quietly "You told people about our room and now your holding your club their"

She was stunned by his answer, and it took her sometime to realise what he was talking about

"the room of requirement?"

he nodded. She gently placed her hand on his face and turned it so he was looking at her

"Draco, Neville found the room of requirement. It presents itself to anyone; I couldn't help it that he found it." She stopped and thought for a moment "Why didn't you turn us in, if you knew we were there"

To this Draco shrugged his shoulders "I suppose I don't want you to get caught" he gently touched her face and started to lean down. She had wanted him to kiss her since they started talking. Even though she was angry at him, the kiss they had shared last Christmas ran fresh in her mind everyday. She hated to admit it to herself but she was jealous of Pansy.

Pansy.

"Pansy" she whispered before his lips could touch hers "You can't do this! You're with Pansy! I'm not a Whore Draco!" she was getting angrier and angrier with the realisation of what she could have just done. Kissed a boy with a girlfriend.

"Granger calm down! Pansy and i aren't together. She just wants to spend time with Potter. I knew you'd get jealous and leave if I kissed her, so that's what we did"

"Pansy likes Harry?" she asked confused "But their so different!"

"So are we"

"Yes, but I don't like you"

"Granger, don't lie"

"I'm not lying"

"Granger you want me to kiss you right now"

"No I don't" it was barely more then a whisper

"Okay you don't. Meet me in the library tonight. Our spot. Read to me"

before she could reply he was walking away

She was reading silently to herself when he sat down in front of her.

"What are you reading me this year?"

"Pride and Prejudice" she answered not stopping reading to look up at him

"I've read that" he announced proudly

"good, you can listen from where I'm up to" she began to read aloud. Draco normally would sit with his eyes closed and just listen to her read. This year however he laid his head on her lap and then closed his eyes. Hermione looked down at him for a moment, and then continued to read to him.

She read to him way into the night, past curfew and past when most people had gone to bed. It was only when she yawned she realised how late it was. She closed the book and waited for the moment when the boy in her lap would open his eyes. However he didn't

"Draco?" his breathing was even and deep

"Draco wake up" she gently nudged him. A moment later his eyes opened slightly

"idshf ldhfk dkan" he muttered

"What did you just say?"

"I don't want to get up"

She smiled down at him "Too bad"

She helped him to his feet and Together, side-by-side, they walked out of the library, every so often bumping against each other. once they were outside the library Hermione turned to Draco and quick as lightening before he could possibly react she kissed him.

"I didn't get you anything this year, I thought that could suffice" she whispered

Grabbing her wrists and pulling her closer to him, Draco leaned down and kissed her. It wasn't a fast kiss. No it was like the kiss the year before when neither wanted to let go. She could smell him everywhere it was intoxicating and perfect. He gently pulled away and smiled down at her

"I didn't get you anything either, are we even?"

She just smiled up at him

"Next Christmas?"

"If you're not a jerk ill spend it with you" she whispered smiling

"Then I wont be a jerk" he winked at her slyly

she turned and began to walk away, calling over her shoulder

"Happy Christmas Draco"

he replied quickly

"Happy Christmas Hermione"

**Sixth year**

Hermione watched Harry twirl his girl friend of 8 months, Pansy around the dance floor. They looked so peaceful dancing together, each in sync with the other and they were happy. Harry and Pansy never fought about anything and everyday they seemed to fall more in love with each other. Hermione couldn't help but sigh thinking about them. Why couldn't her love life be that simple?

The person she had feelings for had come back to Hogwarts this year completely different. He didn't attend class often and when he did he looked tired and upset. He hadn't said a word to the trio all year, and Hermione hadn't missed the fact that he had lost a lot of weight. She didn't want to be thinking about Draco on Christmas, but she couldn't help it. Hermione had hoped he would have been at breakfast that morning and they could have talked like they did every Christmas, but he hadn't come. He had stayed back at the castle, she knew that for a fact but he seemed to be trying to avoid people at all costs.

Hermione was brought from her inner thoughts with an arm wrapping around her waist

"Are you enjoying this party, my little lion?"

"Comrac don't call me little lion" she whispered unwrapping his arm from around her waist

"You seem to be avoiding me? Seems strange as you were the one who invited me"

"I'm not avoiding you, we are having this conversation right now, aren't we?"

"You always have a way of twisting words" Cormac whispered with a smirk

A smirk. Draco. How could everything remind her of Draco?

"You know if I didn't know better id think you were thinking of another boy"

She blushed slightly "No of course not, lets just dance"

He pulled her towards the dance floor and together they awkwardly moved around. He was watching her; she could feel his eyes roaming over her body. Hermione felt so uncomfortable against his body, it wasn't like fourth year when Draco and her body had just melded together. Cormac began leaning down, as if to kiss her when a loud bang sounded and the doors to the party opened

Filtch held Draco in his greasy hands, yelling something about how he found him lurking outside the party. Draco was angrily denying it and demanding to be let go. The episode last about 10 minutes and finished when Snape took Draco out of the party.

"Cormac, I've got to go" without looking back at him she left through the same doors Draco and Snape had gone through not a second before

She followed their voices down the hall. Snape was demanding to be told what Draco was planning. Snape was practically begging, mentioning an unbreakable vow and protecting Draco.

"I don't need your protection! It's my job, he gave it to me and I'm doingit, I've got a plan and it's going to work, it's just taking a bit longer than I thought it would!" Draco yelled at Snape and then ran away

Snape quickly turned on his heels and returned to the party, but Hermione followed the sound of Draco's feet carrying down the corridors. He had stopped walking in front of a wall. A wall, which would turn into a door if she allowed him time to think. The room of requirement.

"Draco" she called out to him. His whole body stiffened as he heard his name called. He slowly turned and faced her

"What are you doing here? Have you been following me?!" he yelled at her, she could tell straight away he was angry

"Well yea I've been following you. I'm worried about you" she said walking closer to him

"Well don't be worried about me! Run along to your party, I don't need you here"

"I thought maybe we could go to the library together?" she tried to reason with him

"Well you thought wrong didn't you?!" he yelled

"What is wrong with you?" she yelled back at him

"we aren't 11 years old anymore Granger! I don't need you! I hate you! Go away!" he wanted her to leave. He couldn't crack in front of her. He refused

She felt a small pang of hurt hit her when he yelled the words I hate you. Could he really hate her? Maybe harry was right. Maybe he was evil

"I just want to help" she whispered

"You can't help you mudblood whore, just leave" Draco had hoped she would get so upset that she would run away. But the opposite occurred. He watched her face scrunch in anger, as she took big striding steps towards him, the next thing he knew his head had been slapped to one side.

"How Dare you!" she screeched, she pulled her hand back ready to slap him again but something stopped her. Something small. The tear rolling down Draco's cheek.

She didn't protest as he pulled her against his chest and held her. She felt him shake as more tears spilt from his eyes. She felt his chest rise and fall as he tried to control his breathing and his emotions. After a few moments he seemed to get control of himself and he let her go.

She took his hand and gently led him to the wall where they slid down it together and simply sat there.

"You can tell me anything, you know?" she whispered

"No, Granger sometimes we have secrets we have to keep"

"Draco let me help you" she grabbed his hand and held it in her lap

Draco looked down at their intertwined hands. Why was she so sweet? Why couldn't she have been ugly and mean, it would make it so much easier to hate her. But she was not ugly, nor mean and he knew he could never hate her.

"If you knew what I was doing, what I have to do, what I am, you wouldn't want to help"

she stiffened slightly at his words

"You have the mark don't you?" it was barely more then a whisper

She looked at his face and one lonely tear rolled down his cheek. That was all the answer she needed

"Tell me what happened"

There was silence for at least 5 minutes before he could even begin to speak

"He took my parents one night, while I was sleeping. A couple days later He held a formal meeting where he tortured them in front of me; he said it would stop when I was his… I couldn't let my parent's die or going insane, if I could do something about it. So I took the mark" tears were rolling more freely down his cheeks now, he wasn't even trying to stop them "I thought if I just stayed away from the meetings, maybe he would forget I was even one of his slaves"

he had referred to them as slaves not followers, Hermione realised he never wanted to be a death eater he just had no choice

"I was wrong, of course. I was 'summoned' a week before school started back, and now I have an impossible task and if I don't complete it, his going to kill my parents!"

"What's the task?" Hermione asked quietly

"I have to kill" he whispered. The word kill got her attention

"No! No Draco join the order! Ill vouch for you, we'll protect your parents, I promise. Please don't kill, once you commit a murder you break your soul!"

"I can't join the order"

"Yes you can! Please Draco let me help you, we will go to Dumbledore now"

He was silent for a moment. He looked at her face, she was close to tears he could see it. God could it be that easy? They go to Dumbledore and he and his family were safe? What did he have to loose?

"Okay. Lets go"

She looked stunned for a moment, then quickly grabbed his hand, and ran with him through the halls. Together, side-by-side, they ran through the school, every so often bumping against each other. when they reach Dumbledore's office they both had to stop and catch their breath

"Why…did… we… have … to …run?" Draco panted

"so you… you didn't have… time… to change… your mind" he smiled over at her

"Will…you come up...with me?"

"No… I'll wait for you here"

He just nodded and headed towards the entrance

"Wish me luck" he whispered

"You don't need luck" she replied

then he was gone

Hermione was almost asleep, she was sitting against the wall, thinking about everything and noting, then she felt a hand on her shoulder

She opened her eyes to see Dumbledore smiling at her

"You are an extraordinary person miss Granger"

she looked at him for a moment and the replied "Thank you sir, but umm why?"

"You saved a boy and his family from a dark fate Miss Granger, and you did it with love"

Hermione couldn't help but blush "I only wanted to help sir. Is Draco okay?"

"He will be fine, he should be down soon. Goodnight Miss Granger"

With that Dumbledore walked away leaving Hermione on the floor looking after him

"Granger" the voice came from the other side of her. Draco held his hand out to her so she could get up. As soon as she was standing Draco pulled her into a tight embrace "thank you" he whispered in her ear.

"Your Welcome"

"Next Christmas will be different I promise. We will spend all day together"

she smiled "I'd like that"

"I'm sorry for earlier, for what I said. I just didn't want you to see me so weak"

"Weakness is what makes us human Draco" he seemed to ponder what she said

"Thank you"

"For what?"

"Everything, First year, second year, third and forth year, even last year. I know I don't deserve you as a friend, but I'm glad I have you"

The word friend echoed through her mind. AS A FRIEND

"Yes well I'm very good at being a friend"

"I know"

"I'm going to go now" she whispered quietly

"I'll see you around then?"

"Of course" she put on her best fake smile and gave him a quick hug "Happy Christmas Draco"

"Happy Christmas Hermione"

**Over the year**

The day after Christmas (6th year) Draco and his family were presented to the order to be questioned, they of course told everything they knew and swore their allegiance to the order. The Malfoy's never wanted to be involved in the second war, however the Dark Lord had returned and forced them to return to the post of death eater with the threat of the death of their son. They were incredibly happy when Draco had told them they were to be protected by the order and also be fighting for the light.

When the school year returned, Harry and Draco became friends instantly, Ron seemed slightly sceptical at first but after a few weeks Draco grew on him as well. Pansy was ecstatic about having a friend with her on the light side, and with Draco switching sides his best friend Blaise followed in suit. It didn't take more then a month for Blaise and Ginny to announce they were a couple and had been seeing each other for sometime in secret.

Hermione and Draco became best friends, wherever one was the other wasn't far away. The fact they were Head boy and girl also made it easier to find them. It was not uncommon to find the pair asleep together on the lounge after too much study, nor was it uncommon to not see either of them all weekend as they stayed in their head dormitories talking, playing and just genuinely being together.

The problem with the pair however was that everyone knew they were desperately in love with each other, yet neither had the balls to do anything about it. So they had spent a year aimlessly flirting with each other, with no results. Whenever anyone tried to talk to them about it, they would get told

"No we are just good friends" or "there is nothing go on between us!"

it was inevitable however that these two would eventually get together. But no one would have guessed how…

**Seventh year**

it was the knock that woke her. She looked over at her clock, which read 8:30.

"Draco it's 8:30! Can't I sleep in a little?" she shouted

"Nope it's Christmas, get your cute arse out here in 10 minutes or, you know I'll come in"

She sighed and made a general grunt at the door. She hated him seeing her in the morning. Her hair always seemed to have a party at night and knot in the most unusual ways, and she seemed to have the ability to drool everywhere while she slept. All in all when she woke up she wasn't at her most attractive.

She pulled herself out of bed and headed to her bathroom. She gazed at her reflection in the mirror noting she didn't look any better then she normally did when she woke up. Sighing she began her morning routine, making herself presentable for human kind. When she was satisfied with her look, she walked out into the common room.

As soon as she was out of her room Draco grabbed her with lightening reflexes and crashed his lips to hers. She didn't even think to refuse; it was what she had wanted for almost two years now and it felt so good. His tongue gently swiped her bottom lip, with a silent plea of entry, which she gladly gave him. They held each other kissing for almost a minute just enjoying the sensation they had both craved for so long. He gently pulled away and unnoticed by Hermione he cast a silencing charm on her.

"Okay now that's out of the way" he announced and walked her over to the lounge

Out of the way! She tried to scream but no sound came out. What had he done, she glared over at him and went to pick up her own wand, but he grabbed it quickly and put it behind his back

"No Hermione I need you silent for this, because you'll keep interrupting me with what you think is logic if you're not shut up and I need to do this. You need to hear everything before you answer. Do you understand?"

She nodded, suddenly very worried about what he had planed

"I love you" he whispered "I've loved you all year, ive loved you every Christmas day for the last 7 years, I can't live without you. Do you understand"

She smiled over at him and nodded

"Do you love me?"

She blushed slightly and nodded again

"Do you love me like you love Harry and Ron?"

She shook her head

"Do you love me the way Harry loves Pansy?"

She nodded

"I want to spend every Christmas with you for the rest of our lives. Do you understand?"

this time she stayed stock still. She understood

"Marry me"

Even though she was silent she began mouthing her logic from what he could tell loudly. The one thing he asked her not to do was to use logic, of course if she didn't have her logic she wouldn't be the woman he loved. It was quiet funny to watch her, she began to get red in the face and he let her silently rant on until she finally realised he had not been able to hear a single thing she had said. She blushed slightly and stopped talking

"I know you think we are young. I know you think we should date first. But I also know that you're the one I want for the rest of my life. I know that minus the kisses we have been practically dating all year. I know all your quirky habits. I know how to live with you, Hermione think about it properly, the war is coming. Lets give them something to celebrate, something for us to celebrate. I love you. Marry me"

He went into his pocket a pulled out a small box, and gently opened it. Inside the box was the most beautiful ring Hermione had ever seen. The centre gem was a rectangular diamond and on either side of that was two rubies set in the white gold ring.

"I wont ask you again"

she looked up at him and tears had started falling freely from her eyes. He took his wand and silently removed her silencing charm. Just as he had earlier she wrapper her arms around his neck and kissed him. This kiss wasn't the reliving kiss they had both needed earlier this was a kiss full of love and happiness.

"is…that..a…yes" he whispered between kisses

"Yes" he felt her tears on his face, and he knew this was the right decision

He had been mulling the idea over for weeks. He loved her and wanted to be with her, but the looming war seemed to make everyone feel on edge. He didn't know if she even loved him, but it was worth a shot. He could have simply ask her to be his girlfriend, but that was too little. He wanted more, he wanted her forever, every morning, every night, every Christmas. He couldn't see his life without her. So he should just marry her. And that lead him to this moment in his life. Kissing a fiancé, not a girlfriend, not a friend. A fiancé.

"I love you" she whispered

"It sounds so good, when you say it"

"I love you, I love you, I love" she chanted, as they continued to share small kisses

"Wait" she looked at him shocked. He gently took her hand and slid the ring slowly onto her finger. "Now your mine" he whispered

"No your mine" he smirked at her

"Deal" and then they were kissing again. Neither planned to move anytime soon, unless it was to the bedroom

"Where do you think they are?" pansy asked the group

"Who knows" harry answered

"They are probably being 'just friends' for another day" Ginny sighed

"Darling, be nice, they will come together eventually" Blaise whispered gently nudging her

"Well it better be soon" Ron interjected "I'm getting tired of their sexual tension"

"Who's sexual tension Ronald?" the voice had come from behind them

"Hermione! Merry Christmas!" Ron looked like a deer caught in the headlights "umm the sexual tension between just people in general"

"I see" Hermione smirked

the table began greeting Hermione and Draco with the expected happy Christmas, until a scream ripped through the room

"WHAT IS THAT ON YOUR FINGER?!" Ginny screamed pointing at Hermione's hand

"A ring" Hermione barley whispered

"DON'T TRY THAT CRAP ON ME! GIVE ME YOUR HAND!" Ginny was out of her chair and was studying Hermione's new ring in less then a second "It's beautiful!" she hugged her best friend "Congratulations. But were you guys even dating?" Ginny asked confused

"No. it was a Christmas surprise" Hermione gazed her eyes around the table, only pansy seemed to grasp what had happened, and tears were brimming in her eyes. The boys looked highly confused

"Why are you congratulating her?" Ron asked completely confused by the situation

"Their Engaged!" Ginny answered. Could her brother really be that thick?

Three pairs of eyes looked down at the ring on Hermione's hand and then back and Ginny. It all clicked

"Oh Thank God!" Ron sighed exasperatedly

"And what is that supposed to mean exactly?" Draco asked, speaking for the first time since they had entered the great hall

"You guys have been dancing around each other for a year! Its about time one of you did something!"

"Congratulations Mate" Blaise smiled lazily up at Draco "What a lucky girl" he winked at Hermione, and then motioned for Ginny to return to her seat so he could hold her

Harry walked over to Draco and stood very close "You break her heart, I'll break your face"

"I wouldn't have it any other way" Draco smirked

Harry turned his attention from Draco to Hermione and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek.

The three of them returned the table and questions began to be asked about everything. Hermione and Draco answered all the questions, however their eyes never seemed to be far from each other

Together, side-by-side, they walked towards their common room, every so often bumping against each other.

"I love you" he whispered

"I don't think I'll ever get sick of hearing that"

"Good cause I plan on telling you everyday for he rest of our lives"

They got to their portrait and both in unison whispered the password. the portrait swung open and together they walked in

"Your room or mine?" he asked seductively

"Yours" he gently took her hand and tugged her towards his room

as soon as the door was closed they were on each other, pulling, tugging, removing and in-between sharing kisses . It wasn't long before they were both naked. Draco pushed her down on the bed and crawled on top.

"I want you"

"I can see that" she replied, smirking slightly

he began grazing his hand over her skin

"Your so soft, so perfect, so responsive" he whispered as he gently nibbled her neck, making her moan slightly "I like that noise" she could hear he smirk in his voice. His hand continued touching her body, stopping every so often when she made a moan.

"I want you"

"All you have to do is ask" he replied gently kissing her neck

"Please"

His hand travelled south and began touching her more intimately. She moaned loudly under his touch

"Why are you teasing?" she sounded like she was whimpering

"What is it you want?" he nibbled on her earlobe and gently grazed his finger over her clit, she groaned loudly in response

"You!"

he got up on top of her and in one swift movement was inside of her

"Gods! Your so wet!" she only moaned in response, he began to thrust in and out of her, enjoying the sensation of her wet heat. All Hermione could do was moan and squirm under him, every so often bucking her hips for encouragement.

"So tight! So perfect" he whispered as he picked up his pace "Come for me" she was already clenching around him and it wasn't long till he felt a new wave of wetness coat his cock. "Good girl" he slowed down considerably and began kissing her more

"I love you Draco"

"I love you too"

Out of nowhere she bucked her hips and tightened around him, it wasn't a feeling he was used to and made him groan in surprise.

"You do that too much you'll make me come"

"That was the plan" she smiled cheekily and repeated the movement

he groaned again and picked up the pace, thrusting into her hard and fast

"Come with me" she was squirming under him in pleasure and it wasn't long before both of them were practically screaming in satisfaction.

He collapsed next to her and pulled her to his chest

"Don't ever change" he whispered

"I wont" she replied with a yawn "Happy Christmas Draco"

"Happy Christmas Hermione"

**15 years later**

"PIPPER!" Hermione shouted up the stairs for the 3rd time "THEY ARE GOING TO BE HERE ANY MOMENT!" her daughter however still didn't appear. Hermione knew where she was and she also knew she was with her father

Sighing she returned to the dinning room where the table was covered in food and drinks for the Christmas party. On Christmas everyone got together and celebrated, this normally meant 22 people in one house. Suddenly two hands wrapped around her waist

"It looks good doesn't it"

"I'm not talking to you Mr! I've been calling my daughter down here for almost 20 minutes" she said with a smile

"What makes you think I had anything to do with that?"

"Don't play stupid with me Draco Malfoy, I know you've been with my daughter hiding, because you hate getting ready for Christmas"

He smirked into her hair "That doesn't sound like me at all. Plus she is my daughter too"

Sighing she replied, "I suppose your right. She has to get those eyes of hers from someone, everything else though is completely me"

"If you say so" he began to gently kiss her neck making her sigh softly

The large clock sounded in the hall, signally it was 7:00. The fireplace roared to life as Ginny and Blaise entered the house through the floo network, with their three children trailing behind. Hermione and Draco jumped apart and went to great their guests

"Why is it you are always on time?" Draco asked extending his hand to Blaise

"I like to be punctual" he smirked and took Draco's hand, to shake it

Ginny and Hermione had already explained their pleasantries and Hermione was now doting on Ginny and Blaise's children Penny, Chris and Kyle (age order)

"Look what I got for Christmas Aunt Hermy" Kyle held out a plastic dinosaur that looked oddly muggle

"It's very nice" said Hermione as she picked Kyle up and gave him a tight hug

"I saw it in a store, in the big city and I wanted it and then I got it from Santa!"

"The big city?" Hermione asked raising an eyebrow at Ginny

"Muggle London, yes, his very fond of it for some reason, I think his got a lot of dad in him" Ginny smiled as she explained, then she realised someone was missing "Where's Pip?"

"Your guess is as good as mine"

Then from across the room a squeal was heard

"Uncle B!" the brunette 10 year old bounded across the room to Blaise

"Pip!" He picked her up and gave her a hug

She began telling him about her day and what she had got for Christmas when the floo network lit up again

Pansy and Harry walked through the floo with their two children Krista and Michael, followed quickly by Ron and his wife Gabrielle and their children James, Courtney, Brooke and Luke

The room was now full of children talking about their Christmas days and all their presents, as well as 'adults' greeting each other with smiles on their faces

The last couple to arrive as always was Neville and Luna with their twins Taylor and Elissa

"About time" Draco said with a laugh "Dinner is now served"

Everyone took their seat at the long table the children down one end everyone else down the other. Christmas was a special time; it was when everyone could come together and just talk about what had been going on. The women discussed how difficult their children were being, or the best spell to clean up while the men discussed business and work. Sometimes the ladies would get involved in the men's discussions or vice versa. The eldest children Taylor, Elissa, Penny and James would tell the younger children about Hogwarts and all the classes. They told them about the magical creatures and the moving staircases, by the end of dinner all the younger children couldn't wait to get to Hogwarts and start learning.

After dinner everyone would sit in the lounge room and exchange gifts, the children as expected were spoiled rotten by all the loving 'aunts' and 'uncles'. Then after the children would sit around and listen to stories from when their parents were in school

"Aunt Hermy, how did you fall in love with uncle Draco?" Krista asked, after her parents had just explained how they met and fell in love

she smiled over at Draco who was smiling back and nodded his head to tell her to explain

"Well it happened over 7 Christmases"

Draco and Hermione said their final good bye to Pansy and Harry as they left for their home.

When they returned to the sitting room Pipper had fallen asleep, and was now draped over the lounge in an uncomfortable position. Draco gently picked her up and began to walk her to her bedroom. He tucked her in and noticed Hermione standing at the door watching him.

"She looks more like you then I give you credit for"

"I know" he gave Pipper a soft kiss on the head and went over to his wife "I love you, did you know that?"

"Hmmm no I don't think I did know that, but thank you for letting me know" she replied cheekily

"Come on" Together, side-by-side, they walked towards their room, every so often bumping against each other.

Once they were in the room Draco picked her up bridal style and carried her over to the bed

"You know you're beautiful?" she blushed at his words, they may have been married for 14 years but when he called her beautiful it was like she was 15 again

"I love you Draco Malfoy" he leaned down and kissed her, taking her breath away

"I love you Hermione Malfoy"

He crawled into bed next to her and pulled her close to his chest, kissing her forehead gently. She inhaled his scent and felt at peace

"I'm so glad you talked to me that Christmas in first year" he whispered

"So am I" she smiled into his chest

"Sleep well my darling"

"Happy Christmas Draco"

"Happy Christmas Hermione"


End file.
